Andros Townsend has insisted that he intended to stay at Newcastle United for a “few years” but had no choice but to quit the club after relegation.

Rafa Benitez held two rounds of talks to keep Townsend last summer but he opted to activate the release clause in his contract after Crystal Palace bid £13million for him.

Townsend, speaking to the Telegraph, said: “I was at Tottenham and I’ve had all the loan spells and then I went to Newcastle and said ‘I want to stay here for a few years’ but unfortunately that didn’t work out and I had to move to stay in the Premier League.”